Rāpaki Marae installs emergency pods

As flooding events become more frequent and the threat of an Alpine Fault rupture looms, 24 marae across Te Waipounamu (South Island) are enhancing their emergency preparedness.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Puni Kōkiri have collaborated to supply 18 Ngāi Tahu Papatipu Rūnanga marae and six maata waka (urban) marae with emergency pods.

Two are installed at Rāpaki Marae on Banks Peninsula on Tuesday 6 August.

Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke Chair Mishele Radford says she’s thrilled.

“It gives us a sense of calm and resilience knowing we can help our community in an emergency,” she says.

She says the initiative from Ngāi Tahu with support from Te Puni Kōkiri is much appreciated and ensures essential support and services are available to people affected in an emergency event.

Jamie Ruwhiu is the programme manager of the whānau and emergency response team at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. He says emergency preparedness is vital, especially in Te Waipounamu with the risk of natural disasters such as an Alpine Fault rupture.

He says the idea for the pods came about after the devastating floods in Tairāwhiti last year.

“Marae often become local emergency response centres sheltering and feeding people after natural disasters. For our iwi, it’s exercising our values of manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga. These pods enhance our ability to exercise those values,” says Jamie Ruwhiu.

“This is such important mahi as it highlights the importance of emergency preparedness in the Ngāi Tahu Takiwā. We want to empower our people to offer support and manaaki to whānau and the community during emergency events.”

The contents of the pods are tailored to local risk, needs, and existing emergency infrastructure. Generators, water filters, medical equipment, and communication equipment are some of the items that may be in the pods depending on local need.

The emergency pods will be placed in areas unlikely to be affected by flooding, but accessible to ahi kā (local whānau) for activation if needed.

The Ngāi Tahu Whānau & Emergency Response Team will offer training to ahi kā on how to use all the equipment in the pods.